A few weeks ago I drained, killed, and refilled a pond for bluegill production. Water to refill the pond was pumped out of my trout pond which flows 24/7 with well water this time of year. Yesterday I was all excited as I had noted fry in the pond, but at the same time I was puzzled as I have yet to see any bedding activity of the bluegill.
Netted a couple and after putting them in a jar quickly ascertained they were fathead minnows! They had a soft ray dorsal fin and a deeply forked tail, which is definitely not a bluegill.
Apparently when I filled with water out of the trout pond -- which has some fathead minnows in it -- the fry when small enough must have been sucked into the sump pump and planted into this pond.
So take it from me you can apparently move fish with a sump pump if they are small enough and the openings on the pump are large enough! Maybe not very profound but an experience to chalk up for future reference.
Now I have competitors with the upcoming bluegill fry and possibly they will eat some of the bluegill fry when they appear. Live and learn!
On the bright side if you're interested in producing your own fish, and you keep reading my posts you can learn from my mistakes.
